GMS News 101 April 2017

Jim

Jun 11|16:03

Peter takes a back seat

On Saturday,18th March Diana organised a party on behalf of the Society to celebrate all that Peter Hambrook has done over the years for the village community.

It is hard to think of a village activity where Peter has not played a significant part at some time. `The minutes of the Village Hall Committee bear testimony to this, with several entries bearing his signature as chairman. He was one of the original councillors when the Parish Council was set up, and played an active role for many years. He was a prime mover in the establishment of the Village Fun Day (now the Village Fete) and was a familiar sight each year organising the children’s races. Peter was part of a group which established the Great Mongeham Society and was its first chairman. After a lifetime of involvement with St. Martin’s Church his ordination seemed a natural progression. Now entering his ninth decade he feels it is time to take more of a back seat. although there is no doubt he will continue to be involved for many years to come.

Last Month’s Meeting

Five years ago Vince Burrows gave us a fascinating insight into the use of geophysics in archaeology, so we were looking forward to his return visit to tell us about the excavations of a Bronze Age barrow and Saxon cemetery above Wolverton in the Alkham Valley. We were not disappointed. His descriptions of the excavations and of the discoveries made were most interesting, as were the artefacts he brought along for us to examine. Vince also showed us photos of the display he put together for the Dover Museum of the burial of Saxon warriors Having been to the museum to see the display, I can thoroughly recommend a visit.

April Meeting

Next month Hugh Norton, who is a guide at Canterbury Cathedral will be using his expertise to tell us about the Cathedral.

The cathedral was founded by St Augustine soon after his arrival, but the present cathedral was built by the Normans, and then largely rebuilt in 1174 after a fire.

At one time a resident of the village, and a member of the Great Mongeham Society from its inception, it will be a pleasure to welcome Hugh back to the society. We meet at the village hall at 7.30 on Thursday, 20th April.

Great Mongeham’s response to the Wurzels

Nearly Nine Years of the GMS Notes

May, 2008 saw the publication of the Great Mongeham Society Gazette. For the second issue the name was changed to the Great Mongeham Society Notes, a name which it has kept ever since.

At first I delivered the Notes around the village by hand, but time constraints and the demise of a printer resulted in me circulating it by email from 2010 onwards. I have missed a couple of months over the years - this should be number 106 - but by and large I have found time to produce it, albeit sometimes late. I am grateful to John Bowsher for providing me with photos of the meetings.

The format has changed over the years as you could see from last month. If people would like me to include a back copy each month in future, please let me know.